Oil Painting 57 - Narrowboat Interior

Living inside a narrow floating tube and being interested in dramatic perspectives I had to try and sum up this unusual space that has occupied so much of my time and thought. I say 'thought' because of the year we spent designing and fitting out this interior after buying it as a shell and being so limited on space every decision needs thought and has consequences.

This space of our design has now moved with us around the country, and now coming to the end of the project it will soon be time to put it on the market for the next owner to enjoy, a difficult decision and all the more reason to get it recorded in paint.

As a painting this piece was really enjoyable to produce, the natural light in abundance coming in from all angles and reflecting of all the varnished wood was releasing all sorts of unusual colour combinations, and cast and reflected light patches. Karen is featured working on the laptop. Hopefully the angle I have given the composition isn't too much to be distracting, especially in a floating subject you would wish to be level. I seem to be introducing an angle into a large percentage of my works which seems a natural process and true to how I see or experience the spaces as I am painting.

Somebody on social media likened this piece to Pierre Bonnard's work who is an influence, I shall attach an example -

The Dining Room in the Country, Pierre Bonnard, 1913

Source: wikipaintings.org via Rob Pointon on Pinterest

Oil Painting 26 - Shrewsbury

The final results after the second , very rainy day of painting

Our stay in Market Drayton coincided with Millard and Lancaster's Summer Show in Shrewsbury and a commute into town was relatively easy from here. I have had great success working with this fabulous gallery earlier in the year and was glad to be able to set up on the streets of Shrewsbury and raise awareness of this group show. You can see the solo show I had at Millard and Lancaster in February 2012 here

I had set up in the town centre in the run up to the solo show and generated a great deal of interest with potential customers and local press working on location. The general public are not used to seeing this manner of work and respond really positively. I painted the Old Market Hall and the iconic Railway Station



I chose this composition for Oil Painting 26 because I was interested in the swing of the street wrapping around the 2 churches. One passer by described the road in my painting as a helter skelter. I felt I hadn't yet conveyed the intriguing geography of Shrewsbury and its formation across quite steep slopes and wanted to illustrate varying heights of interesting architecture within this piece.

A snap of the foundation started one a sunny first day, compare with final result

After a good first day, a went back to add a few touches and the the scene had been transformed by rain. This year's weather has been difficult so far with the wettest June on record. I wasn't going to be deterred and set up hoping the rain would let off, it didn't, and the result was a wet scene with unusual reflections off the cobbles and roads. I have painted a few rainy scenes in the past, the flotilla one of the most memorable, and they often release some unusual colours and different treatment of the landscape.

This piece was purchased by a law firm in Shrewsbury who are based round the corner and saw the painting coming together.

Posted with Blogsy

Oil Painting 25 - Market Drayton

This piece was squeezed into the 48 hours available at a visitor mooring in Market Drayton. It is not a bad challenge actually, to have these marked time periods at stopping points along the circuit, sometimes frustrating but it has kept us working and moving. Before this boat project, The most I have managed was a solid 48 hour painting stint for charity, when I painted 32 canvas portraits depicting 37 different sitters. The sitters were allocated 90 minute time slots throughout the 2 days and nights. I was exhausted and the last few were a little ropey but all in all it was an interesting experiment and raised £3000 for meningitis research. I wonder if I could do a similar format in a British Waterways 48 hour mooring spot.

Anyway, back to this piece, despite enjoying Market Drayton's town centre and having a good cycle round to gauge possible painting locations I ended up sticking with the visitor mooring spot and enjoying the idea of producing a piece from the boats perspective looking along the roof. This is an iconic view for any boater when steering your 60ft piece of metal along the waterways. I am pleased with the result which happily combines the reflection study of an attractive boat with some dramatic spacial representation.



The view or weather conditions are nothing extraordinary but it is a good image to sum up what I am trying to do with this project in giving an alternative take on the actual experience of travelling on a boat around the British canals. I say 'the actual experience', of course I am heavily manipulating this recorded experience, for example, I really didn't need a fire on the evening of finishing the painting yet fancied painting the wispy blue smoke across the composition from the chimney at the front of the boat. I was sweating cobs inside the boat for the rest of the evening!

Oil Painting 24 - The Shroppie Fly, Audlem

We had been looking forward to spending some time in Audlem, and the popular Cheshire village didn't disappoint. The Shroppie Fly is the name of the cream canalside pub in this painting alongside Audlem Mill and canal shop. When you walk into the Shroppie you are faced with the awesome bar, a former working 'fly' boat, with the bar staff pulling the pints from inside the boat. I was also taken with some great framed sketches on the wall of some of the live music acts they have had there. I myself, really enjoy and would recommend the challenge of trying to capture a moving live performer on stage. Some of the other pictures on the walls of the shroppie admittedly made my heart sink, there was at least three paintings or prints from the same viewpoint as I had just started from with this Oil Painting 24. Views become iconic because they have an impact or gut appeal - Should the artist refuse these viewpoints because they have been explored many times before? Or embrace the universal appeal? A noticeable difference with my painting is the wide angle that allows the inclusion of the wonderful lock keepers cottage. The garden to this cottage was something special with the owners selling bits and bobs to passing boaters from amongst the flowers. We bought a second hand windlass from them. I am really enjoying the amount of tiny independent trade on the towpaths and wish to paint more of them. After being self employed for 5 years now, entrepreneurship is a subject that really appeals. I am embracing this culture myself displaying past Year of the Boat works on easels alongside my current painting to entertain the passers by. One of the passers by on this occasion was the boat 'The Cat's Whiskers', a boat that has already passed me working once in Wrenbury on the Llangollen canal. You can read their experience of the Shroppie on their blog http://thecatswhiskersnb.blogspot.co.uk/

Oil Painting 23 - Nantwich Town Centre

After the spectacular aqueducts at the end of the Llangollen canal, and the excitement of painting the Jubilee pageant, it was time to return to the boat, and make our way back along the Llangollen canal back into Shropshire and Cheshire, getting a good soaking from the weather on route. It is amazing the difference a bit of sunshine can have on how you remember a canal! Once Hurlestone Junction was reached we took the turn right onto The Shroppie, with the destination 'Birmingham'!

First stop was the town of Nantwich. After walking from the canal around town it was the central high street seating area, with the flowers and jubilee bunting, that had the most appeal subject matter wise. It was a good spot to chat with shoppers and I was pleased to be getting a painting of a canal community rather than purely water based subject matter. I also wanted to get the town in relation to it's church, which dominates the skyline with the unusual octagonal tower.

Oil Painting 22 - The Diamond Jubilee River Pageant

DETAIL - Oil Painting 22 - Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant 2012

When I heard 6 months ago that a flotilla of 1000 craft was due to sail down the Thames to mark The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, I knew one way or another I would have to get there and paint this historic occaision as a centre piece for the 'Year of the Boat' project.

This en plein air oil painting of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee River Thames Pageant was probably the most difficult of my career; the logistics of researching a good spot, accommodation in London, physically walking all the set up around the capital, 2 days of preparing the background, securing the spot at 5am on the day, intense painting in the middle of a crowd, downpours of rain and a 7 hour journey home at the end, including squeezing through funneling crowd controls, on tubes and trains trying not to smudge the end result left me exhausted and suffering with ill health, but it was more than worth it!

A drizzly morning shot on the morning of the pageant 

I was fortunate to find a location where I could complete the piece elevated on a brick platform in front of a crowd in a similar position to the vantage point of Canaletto's painting The River Thames with St Paul's Cathedral on Lord Mayors Day.

Canaletto recorded with this staggering piece, the last time 1000 boats were on a pageant on the Thames in 1756. The National Maritime Museum are using this piece as the lead image for their exhibition celebrating the diamond jubilee 'Royal River' 

The crowds grew and grew

I was based at the Founders Arms by Blackfriars bridge near Tate Modern and Bankside gallery

God Save Our Queen!

The Royal Barge passing St Paul's

A great vantage point for a memorable show

The below photograph taken by @rachel_duk was picked up by ITV and used on their newspage on the day of the pageant - http://www.itv.com/news/update/2012-06-03/oil-painter-up-against-the-elements-by-the-river/

Oil Painting 21 - Pontcysyllte aqueduct

The big one! One of the wonders of the waterways, the longest and highest aqueduct in Britain and a UNESCO world heritage site. This Aqueduct is a terrific experience for any boater, as you pass over there is no barrier protecting the boater's side, and the thin cast iron trough the canal flows through, is pressed against the side of the boat giving the illusion of floating in mid air and a completely unhindered view of the 126ft drop. A bizarre phenomenon for a boater used to weaving underneath cities to now be floating above tree tops and the River Dee with birds flying underneath you.

Now, how to represent it? My gut instinct was to try and capture this drama from a boater's perspective, to sum up the drop from high up, but the feasibility of actually doing this was proving difficult. The popularity of this spot means there are usually boats waiting to cross so parking the boat in middle and trying a quick painting was impossible; then there was the towpath side, possibly a view peering over the barrier similar to Oil Painting 20 - Chirk Aqueduct, except to get the drama of the drop you have to wander to the middle of the Aqueduct and the towpath is so narrow that it is diificult for two pedestrians to pass anyway, let alone with an artist, a large oil paint soaked canvas and all the trimmings that come with producing the works entirely en plein air. 

I might have to swallow the exclusivity to 'on-location' with a painting from the top of the aqueduct and produce a further memory studio painting utilising the pencil sketches and dare I say it - 'photographs'. In the meantime, you get the 100% on location, 100% enjoyable to produce Oil Painting 21, looking up at the Aqueduct from the viewpoint of stood in the River Dee. The water study this year was coming in to play again, this time with more dynamism having a rushing river flowing around my sandaled feet! A big square painting produced during this Mays heatwave. Very lucky to be based in such a spectacular location with such weather.

Oil Painting 21 in situ

View from the Aqueduct of the painting being produced

Oil Painting 20 - Chirk Aqueduct

You can see the Welsh mountains starting to have an affect on the landscape as you are getting closer to Chirk, then you round a corner and are suddenly faced with this impressive aqueduct accompanied by a railway viaduct. The canal immediately goes into a tunnel at the other end of the aqueduct. This is the view as you round the corner, I wanted to get the drama of the multiple levels, looking down to the river and up to the passing trains as well as seeing the water of the canal. It was a tight angle to achieve the water and the arches of the Aqueduct. There are sheep in the flat flood plain fields below. This span marks the border with a sign at the end - 'Welcome to Wales'.

Oil Painting 19 - Llangollen Canal skirting Blake Mere

 On the way into Elesmere the Llangollen Canal has a beautiful stretch winding between the tree covered meres of Cole Mere and Blake Mere. This painting was rapidly produced in glorious sunshine, there wasn't much time to waste with a rendevous arranged with Karen and the car much further down the canal. As a result it is the bare minimum of an oil painting trying to sum up the scene in broad strokes of a wide brush. On the Mere surface I was enjoying the difference between the light blue of the wind rippled water and the dark greens of the undisturbed water reflecting the foliage on the banks. This reminded me of one of my favourites in the National Gallery, London  ...

Lake Keitele

1905, Akseli Gallen-Kallela

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/akseli-gallen-kallela,-lake-keitele/*/moduleId/ZoomTool/x/90.5/y/0/z/1

Private Commission - St Ambrose College Old School - IN PROGESS

On our first circuit around the Cheshire Ring, I met with Michael Thompson, the head teacher at St Ambose College in Hale Barns, near Altrincham, whilst moored in Stockton Heath.

St Ambose College, a Catholic Grammar all boys school, is relocating to a £25 million new building in the same grounds. A fascinating new build that has the exterior appearance of a Celtic cross from the air and has the grandeur and drama of a theatre in the round from the inside. The move is due to happen at the end of this academic year, leaving the current school buildings redundant and due to be bulldozed. Michael had discovered my work and thought I could produce a fitting tribute to the old school before it was demolished. He had seen some of the regeneration work I had produced with BIGred Studio  and Staffordshire Housing Association, and thought I could provide a more alternative take on the building rather than standard photography or a traditional watercolour.

The buildings didn't have an obvious iconic aspect, apart from the entrance. From the tour I was given of both the old and new buildings it became obvious just how sports related the school is and in particuar, what hallowed ground the rugby pitch is. I wanted to arrive at a composition that incorporated a welcoming entrance and the rugby pitch in full swing.

Initial Sketch Book Study

Work in progress

Oil Paintings 15 and 16 - Water study at Etruria Industrial Museum

These paintings were produced at the same time, flitting between the two small studies whilst both on the same easel. I was at Etruria Industrial Museum leading a workshop with the Orme Group of Artists, a group of artists who meet from Staffordshire and Cheshire. This is the second workshop I have ran with them, last year I met with about 12 of the artists and we painted on the platform at Crewe Railway Station, after I had given a small talk on the themes of movement and transport in my work.

Crewe Station 2011

This year Etruria Industrial Museum was chosen as it offered various subjects which I have explored and could encourage with confidence, the obvious being the canals and this current Year of the Boat project. The museum sits on the junction between The Cauldon Canal and the Trent and Mersey, it is a British Waterways office, hosts a fantastic canal festival and is surrounded by deep dramatic locks and some beautiful victorian Industrial architecture. I painted this subject when I had first started self employment as an artist -

Etruria Industrial Museum 2007

The other exciting subject at this location was the opportunity to paint a female blacksmith, a good friend Charis Jones, at work in her atmospheric Victorian forge. Charis is more an artist working with the medium of steel rather than a commercial blacksmith producing horeshoes and swords etc. You can see her website 'Sculpted Steel' here.

Last October I exhibited a body of work of small local North Staffordshire creative industries, painted at work, entitled 'Vis Unita Fortior' the motto of the city of Stoke on Trent. This included a painting of Charis. You can see all the work from the show here

The Female Blacksmith 2011

After a brief introduction talk about these bodies of work I left half the group with Charis pelting metal and ventured outside for some more water study in the sunshine. I knew I would be limited on time to produce refined oil paintings but fancied attempting bashing out some expressive studies. I am pleased with the results and the comparison with the work painted from exactly the same location nearly 5 years previously (see Etruria Industrial Museum 2007 above). When we all met at the end of the day,the Orme Group had produced some startling results, the entire group seems to flit between different mediums easily, rapidly exploring all forms of representing the canals and the moving subject of Charis.

'Une Petite Exposition' Opened by infamous forger John Myatt

John Myatt (right) at the opening

John Myatt, who was involved in the biggest art con in the UK, kindly opened the

Newcastle-Under-Lyme Show ‘Une Petite Exposition’ with a wonderful speech that

commended the artistry but also the commitment to paint the whole show entirely on

location, in front of the motif, an approach which he described as ‘sadly in decline’.

John had become aware of my work through also using the framing service at the Art

Studio, where the exhibition was held.

John went to Brixton prison for being involved in “the biggest art fraud of the 20th

century” and is now one of the UK’s fastest selling artists. I thoroughly appreciated

his time and kind words.

The exhibition was a success, with a large turn-out, including other local artists I admire Jiri Borsky and Peter Ecclestone.

Find more information about John Myatt’s fascinating story on his website - http://

www.johnmyatt.com/

Here is a link to another newspaper story about the exhibition -
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Artist-Rob-Pointon-opens-new-exhibition/story-16087438-detail/story.html

Newspaper article about 'Une Petite Exposition'

Above is a newspaper article from the North Staffordshire paper 'The Sentinel' promoting my upcoming show this week, called 'Une Petite Exposition'. The exhibition is a showcase of work produced whilst on recent dedicated painting trips to France and Scotland. It runs from the 12th May to the 2nd June. I shall post catalogue on here shortly. Hope you can make it!

Conte sketch 1 - Old Trafford

I have been enjoying using conte crayons in life classes recently and thought the metalwork of old trafford and the caged gas pipes over the canal would translate well to this medium.

Angel over shoulder 2010

 Conte has more permanence than charcoal, you can achieve some rich blacks and flowing gestural linework.

Becky sat upright 2012

I haven't produced many landscapes in this medium but hoping to master this in the process of needing to turn around quick landscapes in this project.